The Velarian Confederation lies on the far side of the Galactic core from Terran space, so the two don't have a great deal of contact aside from some long range traders dealing mostly in luxury goods. However, they do have a potential mutual enemy - the Varanyi - and that may eventually bring them closer together diplomatically.
A fairly loose alliance of 26 smaller states and species, including the Fassai, the Catavalans, the Donburil, the Cm Tava, the Renghadi, the Quagi, the Rhendatha Alliance, the MBelH'gari, and of course the Velarians, the Velarian Confederation occupies a moderate-sized region of space to antispinward (as the Confederation perceives it) of the Varanyi Empire. The Velarians founded and dominate the Confederation; they supply about two-thirds of its military force and slightly less than half of its officials, administrators, and bureaucrats.
The Confederation government consists of a single Council with one representative for each member government or species. Under the terms of the Treaty of Confederation and the charters deriving from it, the Confederation Council must make all decisions unanimously, which leads to prolonged debate and a lot of bargaining and threats among council members. Getting any significant Council business accomplished often takes a long time.
Less unified than the Mon'dabi Federation, the Confederation lacks almost all authority over local matters. It cannot interfere with or supercede member states' laws, or in most cases force a member state to do something. It may request that a member state take some action, and the member state usually does, but the Confederation has no way to enforce its requests in most cases. The Confederation has significant power in just two areas. First, it controls all member states' conduct in certain internal matters involving multiple members, such as inter-Confederation economic laws and the extradition of criminals from one member world to another.
Second, and more importantly, it controls the member states' conduct of foreign affairs. Pursuant to the Treaty of Confederation, member species and states cannot enter into their own agreements with alien powers, and members cannot make war or peace with nonmembers independently. (They can, however, fight with each other, though such conflicts rarely occur anymore.)
Besides the omnipresent fear of Varanyi aggression and expansion, and certain economic interests, what ties the members of the Confederation together is the Scomaru Shaan religion (page 101), practiced by about 80% of all beings within the Confederation. On most matters the leaders of the faith probably exert as much power within the Confederation as any political figure. The College of Avatars includes members from several species, and has tremendous influence as well. Though it cannot make policies or laws, the College can affect public opinion, and no official of the Confederation or a member state would defy it lightly.
The Confederation maintains fairly strong relations with the Conjoined Civilizations Republic (its nearest large neighbor other than the Varanyi), and also has strong trade ties with the Moridabi Federation. It approaches the Varanyi Empire with respect, simultaneously trying not to antagonize the Varanyi but not appear weak. It has exchanged ambassadors with other major Galactic powers, but has relatively little contact with them.
The Confederation has no military of its own; each member contributes forces as it sees fit (subject to certain minima established by the Treaty). It relies heavily on the Velarian Space Force for space-based defense, though the smaller and less advanced Quagi Spacefleet and navies from various Fassai houses often participate in greater-than-mandated proportions. Fantastic-looking craft, sculpted to resemble giant sea creatures and decorated with elaborate hull art, Velarian starships possess both beauty and power. The backbone of the Velarian fleet, 150 powerful Fortress Ships which function as both battleships and carriers, serve as the main line of defense in the event of a Varanyi invasion.
Confederation ground forces are more mixed; besides Velarian Army and Quagi Militia, they can also include elements of the Donburil Amazons, the Catavalan Legion, Renghadi mercenaries eager to "advertise" their services while simultaneously discharging their peoples' obligations, and troops from various Fassai houses. The Amazons typically serve as spaceborne troops and commandos, which means they work outside Confederation space more than the Velarian Army. The amphibious Quagi specialize in underwater operations.
The premier intelligence service of the Confederation is the large and well-funded Velarian Intelligence Branch, although the older Catavalan Secret Order sometimes teaches the Velarians a trick or two. Geared almost entirely toward information-gathering, especially through eavesdropping and research, the IB works well with the Secret Order's shadowy spypriests, who perform spectacular covert operations.
Compared to many other major Galactic powers, the Confederation controls relatively few worlds, but several of them include features of interest.
KERASHKA OPALS
In game terms, a typical Kerashka opal acts as an Aid Psionic Powers 2d6 for a user to whom it is "attuned." To attune a gem, a psionic must wear it on his person for a week and "speak" with it telepathically every day. This requires an EGO Roll at -1 per two days; failure means the character has "said" something "upsetting" to the gem, and it "refuses" to attune to him. Most opals burn out after a while (they have I d6 x 10 Charges which Never Recover), but some remain potent for much longer.
A hellish Type 8 world, Kerashka is the Galaxy's only source of Kerashka opals, fantastically beautiful crystals which, in their purest form, amplify psionic powers. The Varanyi would love to get Kerashka away from its owner, the Velarian Opal Trading Company, but the Velarians claim they can and will destroy the crystal deposits if the Varanyi try anything. Meanwhile, while, traders from all over the Galaxy venture to Ker ashka to buy gems, and prospectors roam the deadly surface, hoping to find new deposits and retire rich.
A small, Earthlike world with shallow seas, Quagaro is home to the batrachoid Quagi (page 41). After an environmental catastrophe generations ago, the Quagi have gradually moved all manufacturing and energy production off the surface of Quagaro to orbital facilities and other worlds in the system. Allowed to revert to wilderness in many regions, Quagaro now only provides a place for the Quagi to live. They build cities on artificial reefs, or in underground complexes below the forests.
The Quagi govern themselves through a federation of clans. Each clan chooses a "chief" to speak for it in the planetary council, and the council in turn elects a "monarch" who represents all Quagi to the rest of the Galaxy.
After losing their homeworld in the war against the Fassai, the Renghadi used rubble from their planet and a nearby asteroid belt to construct Renghadi Sta tion, the largest known space station in the Milky Way. Big enough to house all the Renghadi plus millions of transients, it's become not only a source of pride to the Renghadi, but a major Galactic trading port. Far-traveling Renghadi traders bring goods from all over the Galaxy to the shops and warehouses of Renghadi Station, and their opposite numbers from other species travel there to buy from them in one convenient location. Whatever a person wants, he can find somewhere on Renghadi Station - even if it's not entirely legal....